AlaskaWild Update #275 - March 21, 2008
- Alaska Senators’ Political Stunt Reinforces Need to Pass Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill
- Alaska Wilderness Week - 50 Activists Making a Difference in DC
Alaska Senators’ Political Stunt Reinforces Need to Pass Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill
Drilling proponents in Congress just don’t seem to get it. After years of failed back-door attempts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, a dwindling minority of politicians is still trying to hand over our country’s pre-eminent wildlife refuge to oil companies.
On Thursday, March 13, Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Stevens (R-AK) introduced legislation that would open the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling if the world price of oil reaches $125 a barrel for five days.
The drilling legislation has been called a “stunt” in the media and does not have a serious chance of passing and becoming law. However, the move reveals both the desperation of the pro-drillers and the fact that they will not give up their quest to populate the Porcupine Caribou Herd’s calving grounds with oil rigs.
The Arctic Refuge is frequently referred to as America’s Serengeti and our last great Wilderness. Sen. Murkowski and Steven’s latest ruse reminds us that now is the time to put this decades-old debate to rest. Now is the time to act and ensure that this remarkable land is protected for future generations. Please contact your senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 2316, a bill that Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) introduced to protect the Arctic Refuge as Wilderness.
Alaska Wilderness Week - 50 Activists Making a Difference in DC
Every fall and spring, Alaska Wilderness League works with other organizations in the conservation community to host Alaska Wilderness Week, a four-day activist training in Washington, DC.
This spring’s Wilderness Week ran from March 1 through March 5 and brought more than 50 activists from 14 states to learn about current Alaska wilderness issues. After two days of trainings, the activists spent two more days on Capitol Hill asking members of Congress to protect Alaska’s wilderness from industrial threats.
Thanks to the passion, commitment, and skill of the participants, Wilderness Week was an unqualified success. The diverse and talented group of citizen advocates met with more than 140 House offices and more than 40 Senate offices, effectively delivering their message to more than a third of the US Congress. One activist described the week as “absolutely excellent on all accounts” and as “experience that could be found nowhere else.”
Wilderness Week participants have continued to follow-up with the congressional offices they visited during Wilderness Week, helping to ensure that the message of protecting wild Alaska is not lost on Capitol Hill. Support the great work of our Wilderness Week advocates by contacting your members of Congress as well. Reinforce the asks of Wilderness Week by urging your representatives to protect the Arctic Refuge as Wilderness and by asking your senators to protect the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas from the threats of oil drilling.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:08 am
if we can’t get the oil start cutting down the trees for firewood, and the animals well, i’m sure they’ll taste just fine. feed the loggers it’s a win win.